Improvement in knitting-machines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. GARDNER.

Knit tingv-Machine. No. 92,300. Pmmea July 6, 1869,

PLPETERS PHOTCI Lll'HDGRAPHERv WASHINGTON. D C

dtnited fitter-t FREDERICK GARDNER, OF HAMILTON, CANADA.

Letters Patent No. 92,300, dated July 6, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTING-MACHINES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK'GARDN-ER, ofHam ilton, in the county of Wentworth, Province of Ontario, Dominion ofCanada, have invented a new and useful Improvement inKnitting-llIachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, andexact description thereof, which will enable those skilled inthe art to make'and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in whichdrawing- 1 Figure 1 represents a vertical central section of thisinvention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section of one of the cam-cases, detached.

Figure 3'is a sectional side elevation of one of the needle-carriers andits cams.

Figure 4 is a sectional plan of the upper cylinder.

Figure 5-is a detached elevation of one of the latchopeners.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

Thisinvention consists in the employment of adjust,

ing-rings, in combination with movable cams, in the cam-cases, and withthe needles, in such a manner, that by turning said rings in or out, thethrow of the needles can be regulated according to the nature of thework to be produced; also, in the employment of two gates, of peculiarconstruction, in combination, with one of the cam-cases and its needles,in such amanher, that by adjusting said gates, the needles can be.

thrown in or out of action, as the-nature of the work may require;further, in the employment of combined latch-openers and yarn-guides, ofpeculiar construction, in combinationwith the revolving needle-carriers,in such a manner, that by the action of said latch-openers, the latchesof the needles in both cylinders will be thrown open, and yarn deliveredto their hooks, without fail, and thereby insure the correct operationof v the knitting-mechanism.

A represents the table or bed-plate, on which the hollow cylinder B issupported.

This cylinder forms the bearing for the cylindrical sleeve 0, to whichis attached the take-up gear, at itslower end, and the under orplain-knitting cylinder or needle-carrier D, at. its upper end. Thisneedle-carrier, which, when used alone, serves for knitting a plain web,is hollow and tapered, and it is grooved on its external surface, toreceive the needles 11.

The needles which I use in mymachine, are latchneedles, and theirhook-shaped tails project into the cam-case G, which surrounds theneedle-carrier, as clearly shown in figs. l and 3, of the drawing.

In the interior of thiscam-case is placed a series of V-shaped cams H H,in such a position that a Zigzag groove is formed between their edges,to receive and guide the tails of the needles.

The cams Hare firmly secured in the cam-case, while the cams H areplaced loosely therein; and

from the outer surfaces of these loose cams, project lugs a, throughslots I), in the cam-casc, and into a circular groove, 0, in theadjusting-mug}.

This ring is provided with an internal screw-tln'ead,

and it screws on the cam-case G, so that by turning the ring I, the camsH can be raised or lowered, and the zigzag groove between the cams H Hcan be made closer or wider, whereby the throw of the needles isregulated, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

A revolving motion is imparted to the needle-carrier D, by abevel-wheehd, which is secured to the sleeve 0, and gears into a pinion,a, mounted on the driving-shaft f; and as the needle-carrier revolves,the tails. of the needles slide upon the inclinededges of the cams H,and on reaching the apex of one of these cams, they are carried along ina horizontal direction, until they srike the inclined surface of theadjoining cams H, when they pass down thereon to the apex of said cam,850., and by these means a rising and falling motion is imparted to saidneedles. The amount of this motion is increased, if the cams H are movedto- .ward...the cams H, and decreased if the cams H are moved away fromthe cams H, because each needle, on reaching the apex of one of thecams, is carried along in a horizontal direction, and, consequently,strikes the adjoining cam on a level with said apex; and if the cams Hare moved toward the cams H, the needles, on leaving the cams H, willcome in contact with the adjoining cams H, at a point closer to thestartingpoint of said cams, and the same on leaving the cams H, theywill come in contact with the cams H, closer 'to their starting-points,than they will if the cams H are moved away from the cams H, and,consequently, the throw of the needles can be changed, simply by turningthe adjusting-ring I, as previously'statcd.

The needle-carrier D is provided, on its outer surface, with cogs g,which gear into pinionsh, mounted on the bottom ends of upright shaftsi, on the upper ends of which are secured pinions j, which gear intocogs k, on the outer surface of the upper needle-carrier E.

This needle-carrier is constructed similar to the lower needle-carrierD, being composed of a hollow truncated cone, grooved on its outersurface, to re- =ceive the needles n; and it has its bearing on a stud,l, which is secured in a bridge, m, fastened to the table A, asshown infig. 1 of the drawing.

'To the under side of this bridge is secured the camcase G, whichsurrounds the needle-carrier E, and which is provided with stationarycams H, and movable cams H, the same as the cam-case G of the lowerneedle-carrier D.

Anadjusting-ring, 1, serves to adjust the movable cams H of the cam-caseG; and these cams are fitted together by tongues m, and grooves 0, sothat the same can be moved apart, without opening a space at theirstarting-points, in which the tails of the needles would be liable tocatch.

Iu'the needle-case G, is made a circular groove, '11,

which communicates with the zigzag groove between the cams H H, throughchannels g g; and these channels are opened or closed by gates O P, bestseen in fig. 2'.

If these gates are pushed down, the tails of the needles, on arriving atthe channel 9', are caused to slide up into the circular groove 1), andthey are retained in this groove until the gates are again raised, whenthe tails of the needles, on arriving at gate 0, are caused to slidedown again through the channel g. By these means the needles in theupper needle-carrier can be thrown out of operation at pleasure.

The needles can be introduced into the grooves of the upper carrier E,through an aperture, 1', which is opened and closed by a slide, s. (Seefig. 4.)

.To the outersnriaces of the cam-cases G G, are secured thelatch-openers J, a detached elevation of one of which is'siiown in fig.5.

They are provided with eyes t, through which the yarn passes from thespools S; and the curved edges of the wings a of said latch-openers,serve to throw open the latches of the needles, as the same are carriedpast them, by the revolving motion of the needlecarriers, and by therising and falling motion imparted to the needles by the cams H H;

Bythe action of the latch-openers, a positive motion is given tothelatches, andthe correct action of the knitting-mechanism is insured.

By the combined action of the needles in the two needle-carriers, anelastic fabric can be knitted, of one or more colors, and if desired,the upperneedl'es can be thrown out of action, and in that case, a plainweb will be produced by the lower set of needles.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claimas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. Thecombination, with the cam-cases G ,or G, and the stationary cams H, ofthe movable cam's H, pro- .vided with lugs a, and the screw-ring'I or I,provided with the groove 0, all constructed and operating substantiallyas described.

v 2. The grooved gates O P, constructed as described, and operating inconnection with the zigzag grooves, and the groove 1), substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

3. The latch-opener J, constructed with a single eye, t, and two wings,a u, and arranged in relation to the upper and lower carriers D E,substantially as and for the purpose described.

This specification signed by me, this 20th day of November, 1868.

FREDERICK GARDNER.

Witnesses W. HAUFF, E. F. Kss'rnununnn.

